PC Matthew Blades, one of the two policemen who died last week in Middlesbrough along with his colleague Tom Clough, was a Manchester United fan. He'd travel to games with his two sons.
His wife Sarah and two sons will be at Old Trafford tmrw, the boys will be mascots.
Just a reminder that while the United Kingdom is under self inflicted empathetic self destruction, that small island has given so much to the world;
Free Speech, Penicillin,
Technology, engineering and industry
• The Industrial Revolution itself: improved steam engines (Thomas Newcomen, James Watt), railways (George and Robert Stephenson, Richard Trevithick), textile machinery (Richard Arkwright and others), and the Bessemer process for cheap steel.
• Marine chronometer (John Harrison), which made accurate longitude possible and helped establish Greenwich Mean Time and the prime meridian.
• Concepts of the programmable computer (Charles Babbage, Ada Lovelace) and practical wartime computers plus theoretical computing (Alan Turing, Colossus).
• The World Wide Web, HTTP and HTML (Tim Berners-Lee), given away freely.
• Television (John Logie Baird), practical telephone (Alexander Graham Bell, born in Scotland), jet engine (Frank Whittle).
• Other everyday items: incandescent light bulb (Joseph Swan), stainless steel (Harry Brearley), pneumatic tyre (John Boyd Dunlop), safety bicycle, lawnmower, modern toothbrush, electric vacuum cleaner, ATM, hovercraft, and ARM processor architecture used in most smartphones.
Law, government and timekeeping
• Magna Carta (1215) and the principle that the ruler is not above the law.
• Parliamentary government and the “Mother of Parliaments.”
• English common law, which underpins legal systems in the United States, much of the Commonwealth and elsewhere (including the presumption of innocence).
• Abolition of the slave trade (1807) and of slavery in the British Empire (1833), followed by Royal Navy enforcement against the trade.
• Greenwich Mean Time as the world’s time standard.
Language, literature and culture
• The English language, now the world’s leading language of science, business, aviation and the internet.
• William Shakespeare and a long line of novelists and writers (Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, George Orwell, J.R.R. Tolkien, J.K. Rowling and many others).
• The modern novel as a dominant literary form.
• British popular music from the Beatles and the Rolling Stones onward (the “British Invasion”).
• Comedy traditions including Monty Python.
• Institutions such as the BBC and the British Museum (one of the first major public museums).
Sport
The modern rules and global spread of association football (soccer), rugby, cricket, (which led to baseball) tennis (which led to pickleball) (Wimbledon), golf (Scotland) and several others.
And don’t forget that Michael Caine, John Cleese, Paul McCartney are STILL WITH US!
Gutted. The sensational character actor, Tim Curry has left the stage.
A truly gifted performer of stage and screen, his one eyebrow could say more than most actors entire bodies.
I am grateful to have the rare gift of watching him work, he made you better just standing near him.
Old person musing. I went for a walk with my three year old grand daughter this morning and in addition to all the farm animals, we saw a rabbit, a deer and loads of butterflies and she was constantly amazed. And my God, I was so so happy.
Come on then! Where's the brilliant summer chat now then? Really want to hear how we've had a brilliant summer and how anyone who called out the owners and transfers wasn't a real fan
Until last week, men over 50 were entitled to a free PSA prostate cancer check. But the government has now decided to withdraw that right. I cannot for the life of me work out what their reasoning might be.
So to be clear - @andyburnham sent a national emergency text not for incoming nukes, not for an incoming attack, not for a massive storm causing threat to lives - He sent it for a £1.99 disposable BBQ from Tesco.
Good job…..our PM 🤦
Don’t worry if your A level results are a bit disappointing. I got a C and two Us. And this evening I shall sit in my agreeable garden, drinking beer from my own brewery and eating food from my own farm. Prepared by my own chef.
Considering we were led to believe that this would be a big United summer with numerous incomings and big names being mentioned. What is everyone's opinion on United's transfer window with 2 signings and three weeks left?
🚨 THIS IS EXACTLY WHY SO MANY OF US ARE SICK OF IT.
Two young British girls on a night out, visibly scared.
A bloke notices something isn’t right, walks over and starts asking if they’re okay. He checks whether the men hanging around them are actually WITH them.
The girls say NO.
One of the men is stood outside the club in jogging bottoms. The girls look terrified.
So this stranger refuses to just walk past and mind his own business. He stays with them and tells the men straight:
STOP HARASSING GIRLS.
And afterwards? The girls THANK him for stepping in.
This is what women and girls are dealing with.
A night out. Walking to a mate’s. Going to the shops. Getting home at night. Constantly looking over your shoulder and wondering whether that bloke following you is going to leave you alone.
And apparently we’re supposed to pretend nobody can see what’s happening?
We’re not “imagining” it.
WE’RE LIVING IT.
When are people going to stop pretending everything is fine?
Massive credit to the man who saw two frightened young women and actually DID something instead of walking away. 👏🇬🇧
More men like this.
#UKNews #WomensSafety #ProtectWomen #Britain #UKFrontlineMedia
Casemiro — gone
Ugarte — not needed + injured
Mount — injury prone
Which means we'll Mainoo, Santos and Tielemans as our reliable midfield options going to a UCL season where we'll play around 60 games.
Jokes on any United fans who think this is good enough.
So United might not buy another midfielder....we needed two more when Casemiro was here. We now need at least three with him gone and Ugarte injured. The Glazers are the masters of gradually sinking this club in public view. And some fans actually applaud it.